​96% of American men return to work within 2 weeks of a baby’s birth. Gordon Dahl, an economist at the University of California, San Diego, studied leave policies in Norway where 70% of fathers take paternity leave. The secret was seeing a dad come back to his job without problems. Setting the example is important. The number of California dads taking a break from work to spend time with a new child is beginning to pick up. 17% of men in California took leave in 2004, the first year it was offered; 26% did 5 years later.